Mei and the Avatar (chapter 11)

This is my version of the show Avatar: The last Airbender. There is no spiritism in this, and it's what would happen if the fictional me (Mei of the Fire Nation) joined Team Avatar. Hope you enjoy.

Meiza Kozai never liked the war. Even being Fire Nation she thought it was wrong and wished it would end. After the twins were born when she was 8 her parents didn't give her the attention and love she needed. So she left. This is the story of what happens after she leaves her family and joins up with the Avatar and his friends.

Submitted:Jun 24, 2010
Reads: 59
Comments: 2
Likes: 0

"My dear Mei." he said with a sweet smile.
"Come. Show me what you have learned. All I want is to see you
happy." I smiled.

"You do make me happy, Uncle Ozai. You always
have." I said.

"Oh, Mei." he said, taking my hand. "You have
always brought me more joy then anything I could ever
imagine."

"Thank you, Uncle." I said, hugging him. "You
were more of father to me then my own dad was."

"I love you, Mei." he said softly. I looked
up.

"I love you too, Uncle Ozai." I replied. He
took a step back, still smiling, looking me in the eye. Then he
cascaded off the edge of nothing into a black hole of
darkness.

"Uncle Ozai!"

"No!" I cried, snapped up straight. I winced
and clutched my arm in pain. I was breathing very heavy and
sweating. I sighed and shook my head. Everyone was just waking
up, looking at me like I was crazy. I gave a sheepish smile and
stood up with a little stretch, being careful of my arm. Then
Aang came around the corner with a bright and shiny
face.

"Ready for the big day?" she asked. Aang nodded
with a more serious face.

"I am." he answered. I looked away. Even though
I knew it was the right thing, I still felt bad. Especially after
that dream. No, Mei. I told myself. Stop. It was only a
dream. Ozai needs to be stopped. Aang walked over to
me.

"Mei," he said. "Have you decided what you're going to do during
the invasion?" I sighed and nodded.

"I think I would like to come." I answered. "But, I'm not going
to help fight." Aang nodded with a little smile.

"Sounds good." he said, trying to sound comforting.

"Uh-oh." Katara said. She stood up and walked to the edge of the
cliff and we all followed. A huge fog was rolling in towards us.
"Do you think the fog will delay the invasion?" she asked. Sokka
smiled.

"No," he said. "It is the invasion!" We all smiled, realizing
that the fog was a cover for the invasion ships. Everyone but me
and Aang rushed down to the harbor to meet them. Aang turned to
me and I lowered my heard.

"Are you sure you're ready?" he asked. I took a deep breath and
looked up at him with a nod. We both walked together down to the
harbor. Me, Toph and Aang raised slabs of Earth likes docks so
the boats could dock and the passengers could exit. So many
different people flooded from the ship. Hick people, Earth
Kingdom people, Water Tribe people, big wrestling guys, a kid in
a wheelchair. All different sorts of people. I was the only one
from the Fire Nation. When a Water Tribe man with two beads in
his hair came off the ship, Katara and Sokka rushed over to him.

"Dad!" they both called. They raced up and hugged him tightly.

"Hello, kids." he said. "It's so great to see you again." He
looked over at Toph and Aang. "Hey, guys." he said. He walked
over to them then looked at Suki and I. "Who's this?" he asked.
Katara walked over.

"This is Suki and that's Mei." she said. "We told you about her.
You remember."

"Yes, I do." he said. "It's great to finally meet you, Mei." I
smiled.

"You too, uh, sir." I said, not knowing his name. He laughed a
little.

"Call me Hakoda." he said. I nodded. "What happened to your arm?"
he asked after a second. I glanced down at it.

"Oh, a rock fell on it." I said as if it was nothing. "Katara's
trying to help heal it." Hakoda smiled proudly at her.

"Speaking of which," Katara said. "We should do another healing
session before the invasion."

"Oh, are you helping?" Hakoda asked me. I paused and frowned.

"No, actually." I answered. "I'm coming with you, but I'm not
helping." He nodded.

"Because of you arm?" he asked. I nodded slightly.

"Partly, yeah." I answered, feeling more and more sad. Katara
took me away from the crowd and we sat by the shore. She took my
sling off gently and grabbed some water from the ocean. She put
over my arm as it started glowing. I sighed. It felt good.

"How's that?" Katara asked. I nodded with a smile.

"Good..." I breathed. "It's a lot better."

"I'm not sure I can totally fix a broken arm." she said. "But,
I'm also not one hundred percent sure it's broken... You should
keep it bandaged and in the sling for a few more weeks and try
not use it too much." I groaned and nodded.

"I can try." I said. We stood up together and she kept looking at
me. I was a little weirded out until she hugged me. Then I was
really weirded out. "Uh, Katara?" I asked. "What are you doing?"

"Just hug me." she said. I sighed and her back. I knew why she
was hugging me. She felt bad for everything I had been through,
and she was happy I was doing the right thing in letting Aang
take out my Uncle. She pulled back and smiled at me, looking me
in the eye. "I have a feeling your father would be proud of your
strength." she said with a little smile. I sighed, gently taking
her hands off my shoulder.

"Thanks," I said. "But I'm not so sure." I let go of her hands
and walked back up to the campsite to hear Sokka pitch the
invasion plan. When I got up and sat on the Earth platform Toph
had made I looked over to see a bald headed Aang walking over. I
smiled as he sat down next to me. He looked at me and smiled
back.

"I missed the arrow." I said.

"Me too." Aang replied. We kept smiling at each other until the
shaking Sokka got on top the stage. We looked over at him. He
looked sick. He set up his maps and began stammering and
stuttering over what I assumed was the invasion plan. Before I
knew it I zoned out, blocking out all other noise. Uncle Ozai was
only hours away from being killed. My uncle was going to die.
Usually you never knew when someone was going to die. It was
unexpected and tragic and you couldn't do a thing about it. But
this time was expected and I could do something about it. I could
save him. Aang would never dare to hurt me, even if I attacked
him. I had the upper hand and I could save my uncle and my mother
would finally except me. She would finally love me the way a
mother is supposed to love a child. She would treat me the way
Hakoda treated Katara and Sokka. I took a deep breath as my hands
started to shake. The muscles in my arms tensed and I gently
touched my bad arm. Tensing the muscles hurt in that arm and I
tried to relax it. I swallowed hard. I was brought back to
reality by Hakoda helping Sokka off the stage. Sokka was shaky
and tense and looked really nervous.

"Uh, thank you, son." Hakoda said. "I'll take it from here."
Sokka frowned and sat next to Katara. He seemed really upset.
That was his job and he butchered it. I looked down at my lap.
What was my job? Was it to support the invasion or help save my
uncle? I shook my head slightly. Before I knew it we were ready
to leave. I got into one of the ships with Katara, Sokka, Toph
and Aang. Katara and Aang faced each other and were talking. It
was hard to make out much from where I was standing. They both
seemed nervous and scared, then suddenly Aang leaned forward and
kissed Katara. My eyes widened. No. I thought. I closed my
eyes. When I opened them Aang had left Katara and Katara was
headed onto Appa, bending water around his head so he could swim
underwater and breath. We all started off, heading for the Fire
Nation palace of Fire Lord Ozai. Not far into our journey we ran
into Fire Nation ships headed in the opposite direction.

"Quick!" Hakoda's friend Bato said. "Everyone below deck!" Hakoda
opened the hatch for everyone and we flooded below deck. Hakoda
and Bato stood in front of it. I know because we left open just a
little so we could see and hear. I couldn't hear too well. Hakoda
and Bato gave some excuse for us to be going in that direction
and the other men bought it. They started to walk away and
suddenly Toph leapt up.

"They know!" she cried. The meant turned, ready to attack, but
Toph grabbed hold of the metal bridge going from their ship to
ours, and crunched it up. Then Katara rushed over and Waterbended
them into the water, freezing it so they were stuck and we
quickly set off again. I took a deep breath. I couldn't believe
this was happening. I wanted it all to stop.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

During the whole ride I never really had any idea what was going
on. We were all inside the underwater ships and I stayed away
from everyone. I had told Aang I wasn't going to stop him at all,
that I was going to have nothing to do with it. But as the time
got closer I got more and more nervous. I felt like I was doing
something very wrong in not defending my family. But, I knew he
was bad and that needed to be stopped. I just wished there was
another way.

Toph was getting sick from the ride. She said it was worse then
riding on Appa. The Duke, a small kid the group met before me,
offered Toph his helmet to hurl in. That was pleasant...

I drew my knees to my chest, rested my arms on them and lowered
my head onto my arms. I quietly sang a song Uncle Iroh taught me.

Leaves from the vine, falling so slow.

Like fragile tiny shells drifting in the
foam.

Little soldier boy, come marching home.

Brave soldier boy comes marching home

I sang it quietly to myself for comfort, to try and sooth
my nerves. In a kind of weak voice, Toph asked, "What are you
singing, Hothead?" I looked up, not realizing anyone could hear
me.

"It's a song my uncle taught me." I answered. I paused. "My
Uncle Iroh. He used to sing it every year on the of my cousin, Lu
Ten's death. I was just trying to relax. I can stop if it's
bothering you."

"No," Toph said. "It's nice. Teach it to me? Maybe it can
get my mind of this awful ride." I smiled slightly, moving a bit
closer to her.

"Thanks." I said. "I used to sing this song all the time."
Toph began to sing the song, and then The Duke. I smiled and sang
along. The music rang out in the ship and everyone was watching
us. For just a moment everything seemed at peace. For just a
moment everything was okay. Until we docked. Everyone ran around,
frantically getting ready for the big moment. I was the only one
who appeared calm, though I was probably the most nervous, next
to Aang. As everyone got ready I slowly stood and walked calmly
from the ship onto dry ground. I stood and watched as everything
happened. It seemed to be happening more quickly then it was. It
looked like everyone was going two times the speed of normal.
Before I knew it everyone was lined up according to plan and
rushing into battle, facing off against Firebending guards. Then
the worst thing I could have ever imagined happened.

"Mei!" I looked over. One of the guards was calling my
name. I had known him since he was hired when I was 9. "Mei,
quick! We could use your help!" I froze. What did I say? 'Sorry,
I'm with them. Just waiting for you all to be killed.' I didn't
think so.

"Mei, look out!" I heard Katara yell. I looked up in time
to see a fire ball headed straight for me. I leapt out of her
way, landing right on my bad arm. I cried out in excruciating
pain. I yelled for a few seconds and sat up. I very slowly pulled
the sling back to look. I groaned, seeing it was bleeding. I bit
mu other hand, trying not to think of the pain.

"Oh gosh..." I said quietly. "Ooh, man..." I winced,
holding in cries of pain. It was the worst thing I had ever felt.
Lou Shi, the guard, rushed over to me.

"Oh, Mei," he said. "Are you okay? How did that girl know
you?" I sat up straight, grimacing at the horrible pain.

"Oh, uh, she's- ooh..." I tried. "She heard you say my
name." Which wasn't a lie. I pride myself in know of ways to
answer people in a deceiving wait without actually lying. Katara
did hear him say my name, I'm sure.

"Ouch..." I said. I held my arm very gently. The blood was
leaking from the bandage.

"Get away from her!" Katara cried, coming at Lou Shi with a
Water Whip. Lou Shi stood quickly, standing in front of me to
protect me.

"No!" I cried to both of them. "Stop! We're friends!" They
both stopped and looked at me, curious as to who I meant. "Both
of you." I said. "Lou Shi, Katara is my close friend. I've been
traveling with her. Katara, I've known Lou Shi since I was nine.
He always took great care of me."

"You're with them?" Lou Shi asked, a disgusted look on his
face. I nodded slowly.

"Yes, Lou Shi." I said.

"Well, I'm not!" he cried. He turned back, sending a huge
blast of fire at Katara. I stood quickly.

"No!" I shouted. I slammed into Lou Shi, knocking him down.
I cried out in pain again.

"Ugh! That was my bad arm!" I shouted. In anger I shot a
heavy blast of lightning next to Lou Shi. "Leave!" I cried. He
stood quickly and left to fight with the others. I fell to my
knees, squeezing my eyes shut. "Katara, help me right now." I
said. "Please, it hurts!" Katara glanced at the others then bent
down. She grabbed water from her canteen and held it on my
arm.

"This is bad, Mei." she said. "I think you broke it in
another spot. And it's bleeding on the surface."

"I can see that..." I said a bit sarcastically. "Please
stop the bleeding." She nodded. She bended the blood off of my
arm and onto the ground.

"Gross." I muttered. Katara molded her glowing water hands
to my arm again.

"This is going to take a while, Mei." she said. "Just try
and stay out of the way. There isn't anything I can do right now.
I have to go help the others." I nodded.

"Go ahead." I said. She gave me a sad look then rushed off.
I stayed right where I was, a safe distance form the others, and
tried hard not to think of the awful pain. I couldn't decide
which awful was worse. The awful pain in my arm or the awful pain
in my heart. My stomach twisted into knots and my heart wrenched.
I took a deep breath as I watched the fiery explosions and the
shifting Earth and the snapping water. Aang had started off to
find my Uncle Ozai. To kill him. I shook my head. I couldn't take
it anymore. Everything I had endured was coming up inside me into
one extreme emotion. Love. I stood and rushed over to one of
Uncle's guards.

"Chon!" I cried as he Firebended at one of our Earth
Kingdom tanks. "Chon, I need your help!" He turned and looked at
me. He looked shocked.

"Mei!" he cried. "Where have you been? What happened to
your arm?"

"It's a long story. I need you to help inside to get to my
uncle." I answered.

"Mei, you need to leave. It's way too dangerous!" Chon
insisted.

"No!" I snapped. "Take me to my uncle! Now!" Reluctantly he
nodded. He put his arm gently around me and we ran to the palace.
He was sheltering me from anything that may have come our way,
ready to defend me. We approached the stairs and I heard Sokka
calling my name.

"Mei!" he cried. "Run away!" I looked back at him. His face
fell. He could tell by the look on my face that I wasn't being
taken by force. I looked away and kept running up the stairs.
Chon ran directly behind me, so if anything came our way it would
hit him instead of me. We ran through the doors of the
palace.

"Can you take it from here, Mei?" Chon asked.

"Yes, Chon. Thank you." I said. He gave me a pleasant smile
and ran out the door to continue fighting. I looked around the
nearly empty palace and started towards Uncle Ozai's throne room.
I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. I couldn't believe what
I was going. I was ruining everything I had worked for.
Everything I stood for I was throwing away. But, something inside
was making me stay. Something inside kept on saying, 'One more
step. One more step. Keep going.' So, I did. I one more stepped
right into Uncle Ozai's throne room. Him and a bunch guards
looked like they were getting ready to leave.

"Oh, Uncle Ozai!" I cried, running up to him. I bent to my
knees and looked up to him. "I'm so glad I got to you in
time."

"What do you mean, Mei?" he asked. "What's going on? Why are
you here?" I stood up.

"Yes," he said. "It's is tragic what happened to Chan, I know.
And I thank you for coming to warn me. But, I already knew." My
heart fell and I think I may have died for just a second.

"Excuse me?" I asked, almost breathless.

"I already knew of the plans the Avatar had. That's why we're
leaving. I have a place underground that I can stay in for
protection."

"How did you know?"

"One of the Avatar's friends told Azula of their plans. She
was disguised as someone else and they fell for it. So, we've
known for quite a while. Anyway, we must go, Mei." I nodded.

"Yes, Uncle." I said. "It was wonderful to see you again." he
hugged me quickly and rushed out with his guards. As they left,
what I had done suddenly hit me like a wall. I had betrayed my
friends. Even though Uncle Ozai had already known, I ruined
everything. What if he hadn't known? I could have ruined the
invasion single-handedly. Made it so the war that I so
desperately hate kept going. I hated myself and I knew that
everyone outside fighting for what's right would hate me too. I
collapsed to my knees as tears streamed down my face. I screamed
as loud as I can. I kept screaming and screaming. When I stopped
I hung my head and sobbed.

"You're dirt!" I cried to myself. "I hate you! You're trash,
you're nothing! You deserve to die!" I was sobbing as I spoke.
More quietly I said, "You shouldn't be alive..." I fell to my
side, this time on my good arm, and cried. I had cried a lot in
the past few weeks, but this time was worse. It was worse not
only because I was crying harder then ever, but because of the
reason I was crying. I pulled myself up onto my shaky legs and
wiped my eyes. I sniffed and cleared my throat, pushing my hair
out of my face. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to just run. I
wanted to run far away and never see anyone out there ever again.
I felt lightheaded. I thought I might passout. I took in a deep
breath and slowly let it out, trying relax. Though, when Aang
burst through the door I nearly had a heart attack.

"Mei?" he asked, standing straight from his fighting stance.
"What are you doing in here? Where's Fire Lord Ozai?" I turned
all the way to face him.

"He's gone, Aang." I said. He walked up to me with a concerned
face.

"Where is he?" he asked.

"He knew about the invasion. He left." I answered. I was
waving back and forth slightly as my vision started to slowly
blur. I didn't actually passout, but my legs buckled under me.
Aang quickly caught me and carried me from the palace. He made
his way through the crowd, fighting to get to Katara. He laid me
down on the ground. Sokka, Katara, Hakoda and him were all
kneeling behind Appa.

"She collapsed." Aang said. "She's still with us, but- I don't
know what happened. And Fire Lord Ozai is gone."

"What!?" Katara cried.

"Yeah, Mei said he knew about the invasion and he left." Aang
said.

"How could he have known?" Sokka asked. I heard silence for a
second. I couldn't see any of their facial expressions since I
was too weak to open my eyes. "Remember when Azula disguised
herself as a Kyoshi Warrior?" he asked. "We told her about the
invasion. That's how he knew!" That's not the only way. I
thought. I felt someone pick me up, and that was the last thing
before I passed out.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When I woke up I saw the sky. I stared at it for a second, not
really knowing what to think. I saw clouds. Fluffy, white clouds.
Fluffy, white, moving clouds. My eyes widened. I was moving! I
sat up straight and looked around. I thought I was in a desert. I
was on Appa. He was walking. All the kids form the invasion
(Sokka, Aang, Katara, Toph, The Duke, Teo and Haru) were walking
next to him. Well, Teo was rolling in his wheelchair. Aang had
Momo flopped over his head. I assumed for protection against the
hot sun. I tried to speak, but for a second my voice wouldn't
come out. I swallowed hard.

"Aang?" I forced out. Aang stopped and looked up. All the
other kids and Appa stopped as well.

"Mei!" Aang cried. Aang and Katara quickly climbed onto Appa.
Katara opened her canteen and bended water into my mouth. That
was just what I needed. It felt so good.

"Where are we?" I asked. "What happened?"

"We had to leave the invasion." Katara answered. "All the
adults are still back there. They destroyed out ships, so my dad
told all of us kids to leave. We're going to the Western Air
Temple."

"Where's Suki?" I asked. Aang and Katara looked down sadly at
Sokka, who looked about ten times more sad.

"No, you didn't." Aang said. "You've been under an
unbelievable amount of stress. You put yourself through too much
and you couldn't handle it."

"No," I said. "You don't understand. I-" I was stopped in the
middle of confessing my Toph.

"We're here!" she cried. Katara looked out at the great big
nothing. A cliff was the only thing there.

"Uh, Toph," she said. "I think your feet need their eyes
checked."

"No." Aang said with a smile, leaping off of Appa. "She's
right!" Everyone got onto Appa and he flew down over the cliff to
show a bunch of buildings stuck upside down under it. It was
amazing. There was a big fountain with a little waterfall going
over the edge of the cliff. Appa landed and we all got off again.
Teo, The Duke and Haru said they were going to go explore the
temple. Aang wanted to, but he stayed with me. Him and Sokka
helped me off Appa and onto the edge of the fountain.

"Are you okay?" Katara asked. "Do you need anything?" I
nodded.

"Actually, yes." I answered. "A healing session."

"Sure." Katara said. She grabbed the water and headed for my
arm. "Where does it hurt most?" she asked. I put my good hand up
to stop her.

"My mind is damaged from all the stress and everything I've
been through." I said. "You have to be able to fix it. You have
to be bale to relax me a bit more. To help me cope with
everything." She took a deep breath.

"I can try." she said. I turned sideways on the edge of the
fountain and she sat behind me. She put the water over my temples
and I could see it glowing from the corner of me eyes. All of the
wind was knocked from me for just a second. I gasped. My eyes
widened and my mouth opened. Everything flooded into my mind
quicker then I could make it out. From my childhood to just
earlier with Uncle Ozai. My eyes moved rapidly, trying to take it
all in. Then it stopped. And I felt refreshed. I felt a little
bit more relaxed. But, it caused me to do something I would
regret forever. I gasped again and cried out, "I told Uncle
Ozai!" Everyone froze in their place. I pulled form Katara and
she dropped the water into the fountain. "He already knew, but I
told him that Aang was going to kill him." I looked at Aang.
"When you found me inside his throne room he had just left after
talking with me. I told him what you were planning. He already
knew because Sokka accidentally told Azula, but I didn't know
that." No words can describe the looks on their faces. It was a
serious mix of pain, sadness, disgust, anger... So many things
mixed into one. Aang's eyes tore into my heart and ripped me
apart. For some reason I didn't start crying. I never used to cry
before I went through everything I had gone through, so I thought
that maybe Katara did something to put me back to the way I was.
She restored my mind to the way it used to be. In a way I felt
bad because I wasn't crying or anything. I felt so incredibly
bad, but I wasn't showing it in anymore of a way then a sad look
in my eyes.

"You did what?!" Sokka cried. "How could you do this?!
I knew we couldn't trust you! This was all just a plan you and
Zuko cooked up, wasn't it!?"

"No!" I cried, shaking my head. "No, no, no! Never! I wouldn't
ever do that to you guys! It was just- I was in the heat of the
moment and I just felt so bad, I- something just came over
me!"

"You could have ruined everything, Mei!" Toph cried, pointing
at me.

"But, I didn't!" I said. "Uncle Ozai already knew. He was on
his way out when I went in."

"But, you didn't know that." Aang said, more calm then the
rest of them. "You could have ruined everything we worked
for."

"No, Katara, please!" I cried, falling to my knees. "You can't
do that. You guys are all I have!" I bent down in a total bowing
position, as low as it gets. Even with me putting myself in the
lowest position, begging my friends for mercy and forgiveness, I
still didn't cry.

"We can't trust you anymore, Mei." Katara said. "You put us
all in danger. Leave!" I looked up at Aang, resting on my hands.
He was looking down at me with a sad, pained look.

"Aang?" I begged. He stared at me for one more second before
closing his eyes and turning away. "Please..." I said quietly.
"Let me stay... I'm so sorry... I beg of you!"

"No." Sokka said, stepping forward next to Katara. "Now, leave
before we force you to leave." I sat up on knees, looking up at
their angry faces. Still no tears. I stood up. Aang wouldn't face
me. I swallowed hard.

"Okay." I said, looking at Sokka and Katara. "But, let me just
say one thing." I bowed to them the way they do it, not the way
we do it in the Fire Nation. "I'm honored to have spent this time
with all of you. I wouldn't change a second of our time
together." I stood straight. "And just know that I'm deeply sorry
for what I've done." I gave them all one last look before turning
and leaving. I could feel a single tear falling down my cheek. I
wiped it away. It wasn't over. Somehow Katara brought back the
real Mei. The strong, stubborn, hardheaded, brash Mei. And that
Mei wouldn't let people think she was something she wasn't. She
wouldn't stand for what had just happened. And I wasn't going
to.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Walking through the woods, trying to think of a plan, I heard
a voice. I stopped to listen. Thanks to Toph's Earthbending
lessons, I had heightened my senses, so I could hear much
better.

"Well? What's your answer?!" I heard. My eyes widened. It was
Zuko! I closed my eyes, tyring to feel him. I stomped the ground,
in a way sending out a radar. I opened my eyes and looked to my
right, then bolted in that direction. I ran and ran for a while
until I finally saw Zuko. I narrowed my eyes. He was nice to me,
but I knew what he wanted to do with Aang and them and I wasn't
about to let it happen. I stopped short as he came into view. I
stepped behind a tree and peeked over to watch him. He looked sad
and nervous. No one was there. I wondered who he had yelled at. I
knew Zuko and the look on his face didn't mean he was planning
something evil. I sighed and stepped out from behind the tree,
walking to his little clearing where he had set up a sort of tent
from the trees with a blanket.

"Zuko?" I asked. He jumped at the noise and looked at me.

"Mei?" he asked. I walked up to him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. He looked away for a
second.

"Um, well, I was kind of trying to- I was practicing for when
I ask if I can join the Avatar's group." I couldn't help but
laugh a little.

"You want to join the Avatar's group?" I asked. "How do you
think that's going to work? They wont trust you."

"I'm going to apologize." he said. He scowled. "I've got it
figured out, okay?" he snapped. "What are you doing here anyway?"
I looked down sadly, gently touching my arm.

"I can." he said. I looked him the eye. "I confronted him
today. I told him I was leaving and that I was going to help the
Avatar defeat him. Then he shot lightning at me and I redirected
it." I gapsed.

"Did you kill him?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Of course not." he answered. "I shot it back next to him and
left." I turned to the side, closing my eyes. "Mei," he said,
touching my shoulder. "If I can let Aang do it, you should be
able to." I turned back to him.

"I know..." I said. "But, he was always so nice to me. After
the twins were born he was more like a father to me then my own
dad. Of course, neither of them gave me the attention I really
needed, but he gave me more. It's harder because my real father
died, so I feel like the only person I have is Uncle Ozai."

"That's not true." Zuko said. "You have Uncle Iroh. And you
have me." I looked up at him. He seemed much stronger the usual.
He seeme dmore like a brother then a cousin. I smiled and hugged
him gently, so I didn't hurt my arm even more.

"Thank you, Zuko..." I said. "I'll try to help you get in with
them."

"And I'll try to help you get back with them." he said,
hugging me back. I smiled. Me and Zuko hadn't been in such good
standings in years. Finally, our fighting was completely
over.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Me and Zuko were sitting around a fire by his tent. We didn't
really have naythin tto say now that we weren't fighting. Usually
we would argue, but not anymore. He looked at me awkwardly.

"Uh, I see you cut your hair." he said. I tocuhed the ends on
of my hair with a little nod.

"Yeah," I answered. "So I wouldn't get recognized." I sighed.
"Though it didn't work with the man who told me about Dad." Zuko
looked down then back up at me.

"Well, it looks nice." he said. I smiled.

"I like your hair." I said. "It's nice and- long." He gave a
little smirk.

"Uh, yeah, it is." he said. He cleared his throat and we sat
in silence again. I sighed and shook my head.

"This is so awkward!" I cried. He shrugged.

"Now that we aren't fighting we have nothing to say." he said.
I groaned.

"I know..." I muttered. Then I got an idea. "We could talk
about our plans to get back with the group." He smiled.

"Yeah, we could." he said. "It needs to be a good one. I think
it will take a lot for them to trust us again." I nodded.

"Definitely." I said. "Well, for you to go get with them- uh,
maybe you should just try asking. Apologize and try to make them
see you've changed."

"That's what I was planning on doing." he said. "I mean,
Aang's the Avatar. There all about peace and harmony."

"Exactly. And Toph will be able to tell when you're sincere."
I said. "So, just don't lie about anything and you should be
fine." He stood up with a smile.

"Okay." he said. "I'll be back." I nodded.

"Go get'em, Zuzu." I said with a joking smile. He turned and
walked away. I sighed heavily and fell onto my back. Usually Momo
would have come up to me or Appa would have licked me or
something.

"I miss Momo." I said to myself. I sat up, rubbing my arm. I
wished Katara could give me another healing session. It hurt a
lot. Ice would feel good right about now... I thought.
But, I had no way of getting any ice in the middle of a deserted
island in the Fire Nation. I looked at the bandage sling Katara
had made for me sadly. I missed her. I missed all of them. I
winced as a sharp pain struck my arm suddenly. I took a deep
breath, trying to relax.

"It's just a feeling." I told myself in a calm voice. "Pain is
only a feeling like any other." I kept breathing. In through the
nose, out through the mouth. I layed gently on my back closing my
eyes. I think I dozed, but I was awakened by Zuko coming back. I
sat up quickly, winced in pain, then shook my hair from my
face.

"Well?" I asked eagerly. He looked at me then sat down with
his head hung low. I sighed.

"Actually it would." I said. "Very much." I drew my legs up to
my chest. A few seconds later I looked at Zuko. "Why can't you
have healing powers?" I asked. He looked at me like I was
speaking gibberish. I sighed and graoned and slammed my head onto
my knees. "I hate this!" I cried into my pants.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

That night while me and Zuko were sleeping udner the tent by
the fire, Zuko sat up quickly. I opened my eyes and sat up,
too.

"Who's there?" he asked. We both listened for a second. Then
he sent a line of fire out, calling, "Stay back!"

"It's me." I heard Toph say. She quickly lifted a slab of
Earth to protect herself from the fire. But, when she took a step
back she stepped on it. "Ow!" she cried as she fell to her
back.

"Toph!" I cried. Zuko rubbed his eyes, shocked to see Toph
sitting on the ground with burned feet.

"You burned my feet!" she cried angrily.

"I'm sorry! It was a mistake!" Zuko said. We both stood up and
rushed after her. She picked up a rock and through it at us.

"Get of me! Get of me!" Toph cried. She pushed him away and
she fell onto her back.

"Toph, come on!" I said. She lifted two big pillars of Earth
that slammed into me and Zuko, sending us flying backwards. We
landed on our backs with grunts as the wind was knocked from
us.

"I didn't know it was you!" Zuko called after her. But, she
was still crawling away. Zuko winced and grabbed his side. "Come
back!" he cried. But she was already gone. He yelled and fell to
his back. "Why am I so bad at being good?!" I cried.

"Okay, my arm is in excruciating pain right now, but I think
she may have knocked the bone back into place." I said. Zuko
groaned again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning when I woke up Zuko was gone. I assumed he
had gone for a walk or something. I stood up and stretched with a
yawn. I rubbed my eyes and looked around. For a split second I
thought I was going to see Aang. But, when I didn't see him it
sent a pang through my chest. I took a deep breath, then realized
I was able to move my arm more. I smiled. I wasn't sure if it had
actually been broken before or not, but I was able to mov eit
more and that was good. If hurt very, very much, but at least it
was getting a bit better. I sat down to do my relaxation
breathing. I had decided it would be a good idea to try and
relieve some of my stress. I breath in through the nose and out
through the mouth. Of course, just as soon as I relaxed I heard a
loud explosion. I gasped, jerking my arm.

"Ow!" I cried, clutching it. I pushed myself to my feet and
started running towards the Air Temple. When I got there I was
Combustion Man exploding things again and Zuko was trying to get
him to stop.

"Stop!" he cried. "I don't want you hunting the Avatar
anymore." He ran in front of him, holdin ghis arms up. "The
mission is off!" Combustion Man took a deep breath in and shoved
Zuko away after Zuko told him again to stop. He sent an explosion
to the rock decoration that hung fromt he ceiling over the
fountain. It exploded, but the others seemed to be safe. Zuko
rushed at Combustion Man, holding flames in his hand.

"If you keep attacking," he said. "I wont pay you!" Combustion
Man grabbed the front of Zuko's shirt, stoppin ghim with little
effort. "Alright, I'll pay you double to stop!" Zuko said. But he
didn't listen. He took a deep breath in and sent an explosion to
the fountain again as Zuko kicked him, sending himself flying
from Combustion man, but not making Combustion Man himself move
at all. I wanted to ge to the fountain, becuase that was
obviously hwree they were hiding, but I had no way to do it
without getting exploded. I gasped as Combustion Man sent an
explosion to Zuko. He used to Firebending to fend it off, but it
sent him flying backwards over the cliff.

"Zuko!" I cried. Combustion Man looked up at me.

"Shoot." I said. He took a deep breath in and sent an
explosion for me. I ducked away just in time, also sparing my arm
more pain this time, too. Combustion Man turned back and started
sending more explosions to Aang and them. I ran out from behind
one of the buildings and rushed towards him. But, I stopped as I
saw Aang send a tornado of air up to him. I backed up as quick as
I could. Combustion Man leapt out of the way of the tornado and
down to the others, sending an explosion while do it. Aang
flipped backwards, avoiding the explosion and landing on his
feet. Combustion Man sent another explosion at the fountain. I
leapt down after him, sending a line of Fire to his back. It did
nothing.

"Mei?" Aang asked. I ran up next to him as Katara picked up a
huge wave of water from the fountain. She sent it flying to
Combustion Man, turning to icey spikes as she did so. Combustion
Man lifted his metal arm and leg to defend himself. We all rushed
behind a wall.

"Mei, what are you doing here?" Katara said, a bit of anger in
her voice. I braced myself as an explosion came next to us.

"I heard the explosions and came to make sure you guys were
okay." Mei said. "I can leave if you don't want my help."

"No, no," Sokka said. "We could use it."

"he's going to blast this whoel place right off the cliff
side!" Toph cried as another explosion came. Katara peeked her
head around to see him, but pulled it back quickly as yet another
explosion came.

"I can't step out to Waterbend at him with getting blown up!"
she said. "And I can't get a good enough angle on him from down
here." Me and Sokka made thinking faces. Then, at the same time
we said, "I know how to get an angle on him!" We both looked at
each other, then at Boomerang. We both smiled as he pulled it out
and aimed it at where the explosions were hitting. He pulled it
back, ready to throw. "Alright buddy," he said. "Don't fail me
now. The he chucked it as hard as it could. I swirled around and
left sight, heading for Combustion Man. Sokka peeked around to
see it. It hit Combustion Man's forehead then returned to Sokka.
He grabbed it with a huge smile.

"Yeah, Boomerang!" he cried. We looked up at Combustion Man,
who was laying on the ground. But, then he stood up, stumbling
for a second and holding his eye tattoo. "Aww, Boomerang!" Sokka
whined. We all rushed back behind the wall as we heard him take
another deep breath in. Only this time it exploded back at him
again. Not like before, though. This time it was huge. A massive
explosion that he ultimately didn't survive. We all rushed to the
edge of the cliff where the top half of one of the buildings and
Combustion Man's metal arm flew down. We all looked at each other
in shock. We we turned around Haru, The Duke and Teo were all
staring at us with the same shocked faces. Then I heard a grunt.
I turned back around and saw Zuko climbing up a vine back to the
top of the cliff.

"Zuko!" I cried. I rushed up to meet him. When he came to the
top I grabbed my hand with my good arm and pulled him up. I
hugged him tightly. "Are you okay?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine." he answered. We all walked back to the
fountain. Katara, Sokka and Aang stood in front of us. Toph sat
on a rock.

"Listen," Zuko said, stepping forward. "I know I didn't
explain myself very well yesturday. Me and Mei have been through
a lot in the past few years. And it's been hard." I looked down.
"But, I'm realizing," he continued. "I went through all those
things to learn the truth. I thought I had lost my honor. And
only my father could return it to me. But, I know now that no one
can give you your honor. It's something you learn for yourself by
choosing to do what's right. All I want now is to play my part in
ending this war." He looked at me. "We both do." he said. I
nodded. He looked back at Aang. "And I know that I have to help
you restore balance to the world." He looked at Toph and bowed.
"I'm sorry for what I did to you. It was an accident. Fire can be
dangerous. And as a Firebender I need to learn to control it
better so I don't hurt people." I nodded, stepping forward.

"Everything he said stand for me, too." I said. "I know that I
betrayed you before by telling Uncle Ozai what you were going to
do. And I'm deeply sorry for that. And I want to come back. I
want you all to trust me again. To trust both of us. And to let
both of us continue on in Aang's Firebending training." I paused.
"Oh, and I could stand to control my bending a bit more, too.
It's very dangerous and needs to be used by only someone who is
competent and alert." Aang's face was slightly stern.

"I think you are supposed to be my Firebending teachers." he
said. He stepped forward. "When I first started to learn
Firebending I burned Katara. And afetr that I never wanted to
Firebend again." Sokka looekd shocked and Katara looked angry at
what he was saying. I was just very happy. He looked at Zuko.
"But, now I know that you understand how easy it is to hurt the
people you love." He bowed to us. "I'd like both of you to teach
me." Me and Zuko smiled and bowed back.

"Thank you." he said.

"From both of us." I added.

"I'm so happy you've accepted us into your group." Zuko
said.

"Not so fast." Aang said. Me and Zuko paused, our faces
falling. "I still have to ask my firends if it's okay with them."
He turned to the rest of them. "Toph," he said. "You're the one
that Zuko burned. What do you think?"

"Go ahead and let them join." she said. "It'll give me plently
of time to get back at Zuko for burning my feet." Aang smiled
then turned to Sokka.

"Sokka?" he asked. Sokka shurgged.

"All I want is to defeat the Fire Lord." he said. "If you
think this is the way to do it, go for it." Aang smiled again,
then looked at Katara.

"Katara?" he asked.

"I'll go along with whatever you think is right." she said.
Aang smiled even more.

"We wont let you down." Zuko said as we walked forward. "We
promise."

"Let's hope so." Katara said. It seemed that she directed it
more to Zuko then to me. But, she was still very angry with me,
too. I looked at Aang. It was a relief to be able to look at him
and have him look back at me with happiness and not shame.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked him. He nodded.

"Sure." he said. We walked together a ways from the others. I
stood in front of him. I pulled him and hugged him. He hugged me
back. But, while I was hugging I noticed something. Or rather, I
didn't notice something. There was no feeling. I didn't get all
fluttery inside and I didn't blush. I didn't feel at a loss for
words. I felt totally composed. I closed my eyes and frowned.
Whatever Katara did to my mind made it so I had no feelings for
him anymore. Of course I Still cared for him. He was my best
friend. I loved him in that way. But, I didn't love love
him anymore. We pulled away from each toher and looked him in the
eye.

"I'm so glad to be back." I said. "I'm so sorry for what I
did." Aang shook his head.

"You mean a lot to me, Aang." I said. "You're like-" I paused
for just a second. Say it, Mei. He needs to know you don't
have feelings anymore. Just say it! "You're like a brother to
me, Aang." I could see the emotion in his face change slightly.
"And that's really important to me because I never got to enjoy
my brother." He looked away for a second.

"Oh." he said. "Well, thanks..." I sighed.

"Aang, look," I said. "I used to have feelings for you. And I
loved that. But, whatever Katara did the other day to my mind
made it so I don't anymore. I wish I still did, but she put me
back to the way my mind was before I met you. And I know you and
Katara like each other. So, you shouldn't waste your time on me.
You liked her long before you met me." His face seemed nervous,
but like he was trying not to show it.

"I don't like Katara!" he said. I smiled.

"Aang, I know you do." I said. "And it's okay. You and I will
always be as good of friends as it gets." He smiled.

"I'd like that." he said. We hugged again and left. I sighed.
In some ways I wished that Katara had never fixed my mind.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Later me and Zuko went to teach Aang some Firebending. We
decided to start over from the top. Aang said he was nervous
again because he hadn't Firebended in a long time. and that he
staretd thinking about what he did to Katara.

"I know you're nervous." Zuko said. "But, remember.
Firebending in and of itself is not something to fear." Aang took
a deep breath.

"Okay. Not something to fear." he said.

"But, if you don't respect it it'll chew you up and spit you
out like an angry kamodo-rhino!" Aang yelled and jumped back.

"Now, show me what you've got." he said. "Any amount of fire
you can make." Aang took two deep breaths then stiffened like a
board. Then he turned and shot out his hand, only to have a puny
amount of smoke come out. He looked at us and smirked
sheepishly.

"Maybe I need a little more instruction. Perhaps a
demonstration?" he said.

"Good idea." Zuko said. "You may want to take a couple steps
back." Aang back up and Zuko looked at me. "You too." he said. I
rolled my eyes and stepped back with Aang. Zuko sucked in a
breath, then with a grunt shot out his fist. I expected the thing
I always saw. A huge burst of flames. But, no. Only a small
little flame came out. I snickered.

"I thought it was- nice." Aang said with a little smile,
trying to be nice and encouraging. Zuko kept trying. He did form
after form only to have tiny little flames come out. I looked at
his fist and growled. I laughed.

"That's what it is." I said. But, even after we moved to a
different area it didn't work. Aang was sitting on a broken
pillar and I was leaning against it. He yawned and fell back as
Zuko kept failing to make a big flame.

"Just breath and-" Zuko shot his fist out again. Only another
small flame. Aang sat up.

"Maybe it's still the altitude..." he said. I shook my head
again, walking closer to him.

"It isn't the altitude, Zuko." I said. "It's you."

"Well, how do you know?" he snapped. I raised one eyebrow then
took a step back.

"If it was the altitude, could I do this?" And I shot my fist
out to have a huge burst of flame fly out. "I could Firebend with
my bad arm, right now." I said. "Something's going on with you.
If you can't Firebend, I guess I'll just have to teach you both."
Zuko blushed a bit from embarrassment. I smiled, stepping forward
and sruffing up his hair. "Don't be embarrassed, Zuzu." I said.
"There's no shame in being beaten by a master." He pushed my hand
away with an angry look.

"I'm not ashamed." he snapped. "I'm angry that I can't make
anything bigger then a candle flame!" I shrugged.

"It just isn't your day." I said. I turned to Aang. "Come
here, Aang." I said. He hopped off the broken pillar and walked
up to me. "You've Firebended before, Aang." I told him. "You can
do it again. Remember what we did before? Hold your hand out and
concentrate." I heard Zuko scoff as Aang held out his hand next
to mine. I was holding a decent flame in my palm.

"This is supposed to teach him Firebending?" he asked.
"Concentrating?" I glanced at him.

"Shush." I said quietly. "He needs to concentrate." Aang
closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Think warm thoughts,
Aang. Just like before. You were so good before. Just let go of
your fear." Zuko rolled his eyes and folded his arms.

"This isn't going to-" he stopped mid sentence when a flame
appeared in Aang's hand. Zuko looked shocked and Aang looked so
happy and proud. I smiled.

"It's going to- what?" I asked Zuko with a smile. He turned
away. "Keep practicing, Aang." I said. "Once you can make a
bigger flame we'll work on more moves." Aang nodded.

"Sure thing, sifu Hotman." he said. I giggled as he walked
away. I turned to Zuko.

"Want me to help you out?" I asked. He turned back. His face
was very angry.

"No." he answered. He turned again and left. I sighed. I
walked back to the crumbled fountain where Katara was healing
Toph's burned feet. I sat down by the foutnain and Katara gave me
a mean glance.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes." I said cautiously. "Um, well, you see, my arm is- when
Toph knocked me with that rock-" I sighed. I felt awkward asking
her.

"Spit it out, Mei." Katara said. "I'm kind of busy here." I
took a deep breath.

"Sorry." I said. "Um, I think Toph knocked my bone back into
the correct place. But, it stills needs more work and Iw as
wondering-"

"Only a tiny bit." I said. "I Metalbended and Firebended the
bars in my cell so I could escape."

"That's great, Mei!" she cried. "I thought only I could do
that."

"Well, I can stop if you want to be the only one." I said. I
laughed a little. "I'm not even sure how much I actually
Metalbended. I was really- uh, emotional at the time. I don't
think I could do it again." Not since Katara fixed me... I
thought. Toph shrugged and Katara dropped the water from Toph's
feet into the fountain.

"Alright, Mei, you're up." she said. Sokka came over and
picked Toph up, carrying her away. I got closer to Katara. She
wouldn't look me in the eye. She carefully removed the bandage
and grabbed more water, molding it to her hands. I bent my arm
out as much as I could and she gently put her hands on it. "It's
definitely better." she said. "One or two more healing sessions
and you should be able to use it almost liek normal." I
smirked.

"Thanks." I said.

"Don't thank me." she replied, a little anger still in her
voice. "Toph's the one that knocked it back into place."

"Yes," I said. "But, you did most of the work... And you're
here with me now." She looked up at me, finally.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"You've forgiven me." I said. "At least a little, otherwise
you wouldn't be helping me." She looked back down at her hands
then dropped the water in the fountain.